24/7 Emergency Service
Theme of the Month – September
9/1/2020 (Permalink)
Theme of the Month – September
Every month, our marketing team is focuses on a key element that can help with in people’s lives. Through September, our team is focused on the fact that September is National Preparedness Month!
Each week, ready.gov has simple, but important tasks your family can work through to feel more at ease when the thought of a disaster hitting. Check back for each week’s set of tasks.
To kick us off, Week #1 – September 1st-5th, Goal: Make A Plan. The goal of this week can be accomplished in 4 simple steps.
Step #1- Put a Plan Together
Different areas of the county are more at risk for different types of natural disasters. Your first step to put together a plan is to assess what disasters are the most heavy in your area, and make a list. Once you have a list, it will then help you with the rest of the steps.
With your list in mind, ask yourself these questions.
- How will I receive emergency alerts and warnings?
- What is my shelter plan?
- What is my evacuation plan?
- What is my household communication plan?
- Do I need to update my emergency preparedness kit?
This will help you identify anything you may have forgotten, and help you find holes in your plan.
Step #2- Consider Specific Needs in Your Household
You can easily look up lists of items to have on hand in case of an emergency, but this step makes your supplies list specific to your family’s needs. Look at each member, and think of any daily items they may need that is not on the list. This can include the daily care of infants/small children, elderly family members, how each member communicates, pets, or anyone with specialized medical equipment or medicine. Having these items on hand is very important when disaster strikes, and you may not be able to easily obtain them.
Step #3- Fill Out a Family Emergency Plan
Above is the Family Emergency Plan that ready.gov has put out to use. Whether you choose to use this one or not, it is a great reference in what information to have!
Step #4- Practice Your Plan with Your Family/Household
Now that you have your plan started, practicing and running over this plan thoroughly will help you identify any other weaknesses. It may also help your family members feel safe and comfortable after discussing this hard topic, especially with small children. Making sure they feel fully prepared and safe is a great way to put their minds at ease!